Murder in the Court: Ngaio winner revealed

THE NGAIO MARSH AWARD, in association with WORD Christchurch and The Press, is pleased to reveal that whodunit and who-won-it will be announced at a great event at the Court Theatre on 4 October.

“I’m thrilled that the event will be held at the Court Theatre this year,” says Judging Convenor Craig Sisterson, “both as a nod to Dame Ngaio’s own passion for the stage, and because the Court Jesters were scheduled to perform at our inaugural event in 2010, before the Christchurch earthquakes intervened.”

The event on Sunday 4 October begins at 5.00pm and will include a chance to have a drink and mingle with the finalists and an improvised murder mystery, followed by actors reading from each novel:
• FIVE MINUTES ALONE by Paul Cleave (Penguin NZ)
• THE PETTICOAT MEN by Barbara Ewing (Head of Zeus)
• SWIMMING IN THE DARK by Paddy Richardson (Upstart Press)
• THE CHILDREN’S POND by Tina Shaw (Pointer Press)
• FALLOUT by Paul Thomas (Upstart Press)

“Rachael King and her WORD Christchurch team have put together a really terrific evening to honour this year’s finalists,” says Sisterson. “We’re all curious to see who’ll win from amongst this superb array of New Zealand writing talent; diverse books melding page-turning storytelling with deeper societal issues. I understand it’s been a cliffhanger decision for our international judging panel of crime fiction experts.”

The Ngaio Marsh Award is made annually for the best crime, mystery, or thriller novel written by a New Zealand citizen or resident. This year’s winner will receive the Ngaio Marsh Award trophy, a set of Dame Ngaio’s novels courtesy of her publisher HarperCollins, and a cash prize provided by WORD Christchurch.

WORD Christchurch will also be giving away a set of the finalists’ novels to an attendee on the night.

For more information and ticketing, contact WORD Christchurch at admin@wordchristchurch.co.nz

For more on the Ngaio Marsh Award, go to www.facebook.com/NgaioMarshAward, or follow on Twitter: @ngaiomarshaward